Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Reducing Anxiety and Depression and Improving Sexual Function in Women with Vaginismus

Vaginismus is one of the sexual dysfunctions that can have an unpleasant effect on the mental health of women and their marital relationships. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Schematic Therapy on reducing anxiety and depression and improving the sexual function of women with Vaginismus in Kerman.

The present study was a descriptive semi-experimental studyThe statistical population of this study included women referring to Kerman health centers with vaginismus disorder, 30 subjects were selected as an available sample and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups [each group included 15 subjects]. The experimental group consisted of 10 sessions of 2-hour weekly in a schematic-based group. Cattle Anxiety Inventory [1973], Beck Depression [1988], and Sexual Function [Rosen et al., 2000] were performed in two stages of pretest and post-test on two groups. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis and repeated measure.

The results indicated that the schema therapy caused a significant decrease in the mean scores of anxiety and depression and a significant increase in the mean of sexual performance of the experimental group compared to the control group [P <0.001]. The level of anxiety and depression in the experimental group compared to the control group at the post-test and follow-up stage of 12 months was significantly lower than the pre-test [P <0.001], as well as the sexual activity in the experimental group compared to the control group in the post-injection phase The 12-month follow-up and follow-up were significantly reduced compared to the pre-test P <0.001.

Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the effectiveness of the Schematic Therapy on reducing anxiety and depression and improving the sexual function of the patients are effective in counseling centers.